Sage stuffed in Mind Your Own Business bid

Geordie small biz provider Sage has been beaten in the battle over Australian accounts provider MYOB even though it was offering more for the firm.

Sage was offering A$1.3bn and was supposedly the preferred bidder. But fears over its not being able to gain shareholder approval tipped the balance to favour Bain Capital.

The buy would have been Sage's biggest ever and would require shareholder approval, all of which could have potentially delayed the deal. Given last week's huge falls in share prices, the deal looked even less likely.

Sage's market cap has fallen to about £3.1bn and a bid for MYOB would cost in the region of £822m and would need a shareholder vote.

Bain Capital is offering £822m – or A$1.2bn – but has no shareholders to keep happy. ®